Autotalks CEO: Lack of coordination between autonomous and manned vehicles can fail the AV vision

Lack of coordination between autonomous vehicles and manned vehicles can fail the driverless car vision, according to Hagai Zyss, CEO of the Israeli company Autotalks, which specializes in accident prevention through the use of DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) technology. Zyss will gave a speech at the Automobili-D show in Detroit under the title "Driving the Future of Connected Vehicles". "The problem of coordinating autonomous and manned vehicles must deeply concern policy makers and the auto industry. Decision makers must promote automotive technologies that will prevent accidents and save lives. The resolution of the coordination issue will be one of the key challenges of the industry in the next few years", said Zyss. "Many people in the industry leap in their imagination to the point in time when all vehicles on our roads will be autonomous, but not everyone pays attention to the massive challenges in the long transition period, in which most of the vehicles will be manned and we will have to share our roads with autonomous vehicles."

According to Zyss, "the problematic aspect of coordination has many manifestations, but two key themes can demonstrate how serious the issue is. The first theme is the fact that accidents between autonomous vehicles and manned vehicles have already happened."

Zyss added: "Secondly, there is an inherent difficulty of human drivers to understand autonomous vehicles and vice versa. Beyond the fact that human drivers get stressed when they see an autonomous vehicle, human drivers might make sudden lane changes, presume right of way or run red lights in a way that makes it difficult for autonomous vehicles to expect and respond to. In this context, it is important to understand that integrating DSRC-based V2X solutions can solve the issue of harmonizing autonomous and manned vehicles. We at Autotalks are playing a key role in tackling this challenge. In order to support this move and realize the autonomous vehicle vision, it is important to lay down an infrastructure of legislation and regulation that together with additional technologies will ensure that the integration of autonomous vehicles into our roads will prevent accidents rather than cause accidents."

Last year, Autotalks announced a $40 million financing round, led by Toyota's investment arm Mirai Creation Investment Fund. In late 2016, the Japanese electronics giant DENSO decided to incorporate Autotalks' chipset into the V2X platform it provides to car manufacturers. Autotalks is cooperating with several key players in the automotive industry such as Bosch, with whom it is carrying out a joint project to develop a motorcycle accident prevention communications technology (Bike-to-Vehicle - B2V).